Women, Gifts & the Body of Christ
It is amazing to me how many different perspectives about scripture that I have heard lately that I have never heard before. First of all, in Mike Cope's blog, his series on the Bible was excellent. Click here to read them.
But what I want to talk about in this blog is women's role in the church. But instead of me saying much, I want to give you a link to someone who presents it better. Recently someone sent me a link to a sermon that Mike Cope gave to the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene. Highland is one of the more progressive Churches of Christ in Abilene. Since I have only visited Highland a couple of times in my career here at ACU, I called Highland Church to make sure I gave accurate information as to what women are allowed to do in their service. At Highland, women are given opportunities to serve in the body of Christ that they are not given at other churches. They are able to read scripture, lead prayers, do announcements, give testimonies (primarily on Wednesdays), give the communion thoughts, and also serve the communion (this is done on a volunteer basis so it is mainly men still). One thing they do not do is the preaching which is mainly done by Mike Cope.
The decision to involve women more in the church service was not a quick decision. It was thoughtfully and prayerfully considered for a number of years. From what I have heard, the elders carefully studied scripture as they tried to determine how they should lead their church. This sermon is one that Mike gave to the congregation during the process of women becoming more involved. Click here to go to the web page where the sermon can be found. It is about an hour long if you want to listen to it in one sitting. But I do encourage you to make the time at some point to listen to it. It is very good.
I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this subject because different people have different perspectives and viewpoints that I otherwise might not hear.
But what I want to talk about in this blog is women's role in the church. But instead of me saying much, I want to give you a link to someone who presents it better. Recently someone sent me a link to a sermon that Mike Cope gave to the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene. Highland is one of the more progressive Churches of Christ in Abilene. Since I have only visited Highland a couple of times in my career here at ACU, I called Highland Church to make sure I gave accurate information as to what women are allowed to do in their service. At Highland, women are given opportunities to serve in the body of Christ that they are not given at other churches. They are able to read scripture, lead prayers, do announcements, give testimonies (primarily on Wednesdays), give the communion thoughts, and also serve the communion (this is done on a volunteer basis so it is mainly men still). One thing they do not do is the preaching which is mainly done by Mike Cope.
The decision to involve women more in the church service was not a quick decision. It was thoughtfully and prayerfully considered for a number of years. From what I have heard, the elders carefully studied scripture as they tried to determine how they should lead their church. This sermon is one that Mike gave to the congregation during the process of women becoming more involved. Click here to go to the web page where the sermon can be found. It is about an hour long if you want to listen to it in one sitting. But I do encourage you to make the time at some point to listen to it. It is very good.
I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this subject because different people have different perspectives and viewpoints that I otherwise might not hear.
posted by D Love at 6:45 AM
2 Comments:
For the life of me, I can't even begin to fathom why women weren't accorded full stature in the church many years ago - say around the time slavery was abolished?
The idea that women, somehow, someway, are the spiritual inferiors of men, is transparently absurd. The converse could be argued very easily.
It is high time that more churches wake-up and understand (or admit what they know to be true): women are a vital part of the body who need to be active in the life of the church for the community to be complete. There, I said it.
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